Donations: Mayfield has been no stranger to those in the past year or so. Yet even when considering the significant support from national organizations sent this way since the tornado struck, it seems just as much support has come from within the community itself.
Evidencing this local-to-local help is the Mayfield Graves County Long Term Recovery Group, which has received three separate $250,000 donations from the Mayfield Community Foundation, the Mayfield First United Methodist Church and the United Way of Western Kentucky since October. These donations are primarily put toward the recovery group’s Home for the Holidays housing initiative.
Home for the Holidays is intended to aid displaced renters by providing them with newly renovated homes to lease for a full year. After that year has elapsed, these renters will be offered the opportunity to purchase their homes outright. If they aren’t able to purchase their homes by then, they’ll be permitted to continue renting in the interim.
Ryan Drane, executive director the recovery group, said candidates selected for the program will take financial management and home-ownership classes during their first year of renting, and their monthly payments will be monitored for timeliness.
“If it takes someone two, three years or so to build their credit score, get their down payment, develop that relationship with a lender in order to purchase the home, then we’ll work with them to put them in a position where they can make an acquisition in the future,” Drane said.
While financial preparedness plays a role in the selection process, renters will also be “matched” to these newly renovated homes based on the size of their family and proximity to their former living space. Other considerations include keeping children in their current school district or adults near their employment.
About a dozen homes have already been purchased or are under contract throughout Graves County, most of which are located within Mayfield. The recovery group is partnering with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet and post-disaster architecture and engineering professionals to ensure those homes will meet current building standards—complete with high-impact windows and doors, hurricane slips, foundation straps, storm shelters and energy-efficient appliances.
“Before we purchase any home, we go through with general contractors and make a detailed budget of what we expect the renovations to cost so we know what our organization’s investment would be,” Drane said.
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More than 20 national and local organizations have contributed to Home for the Holidays through monetary or material means. On the national side, a portion of a $125,000 donation from 84 Lumber made last year was recently used to purchase two truckloads of materials for the impending housing initiative. Locally, the Graves County Schools administrative team volunteered to renovate a home slated for tornado survivors.
The $250,000 donation by the Mayfield Community Foundation comes from its GoFundMe and was used to purchase the first four or five vacant homes of the 25 the recovery group plans to renovate before Dec. 25. The community foundation was previously involved in such early relief efforts as utilities assistance, vehicle windshield replacement and more.
Denise Thompson, a board member for the foundation, said renters account for about 70% of people who were adversely affected by the December 2021 tornado. As such, the mission to increase the availability of housing in Mayfield aligns with the sort of philanthropic duties her foundation was established to perform in 2018.
“[Home for the Holidays] really gives these residents a chance to become homeowners in a way that’s truly sustainable for them,” Thompson said. “When you’re a renter, sometimes that will be a generational thing, and you never really have enough funds to make a down payment or to learn about the things that are involved in being a homeowner. It’s something that can really transform residents’ lives.”
Another four to five homes will be purchased using the donation from the Methodist church, while the donation from United Way will be put toward utility assistance, automotive repair and other immediate needs.
The latter sum is part of United Way’s $1.1 million push to help Graves, Marshall, Fulton and Hickman counties following the tornado. Formerly known as United Way of Paducah-McCracken County, the rebranded western Kentucky organization has expanded its reach to six additional counties to better address those tornado-torn communities.
Betsy Burkeen, CEO of United Way of Western Kentucky, said this is necessary because the broader region is so tightly connected, meaning some issues are not bound by county lines.
“We have people who live in one county but travel to another for school, for work,” Burkeen said in a press release. “What happens in one county absolutely can affect the rest. These recent events have shown us all how combining efforts strengthen the region as a whole.”
United Way is also coordinating two days of volunteer recruitment for Home for the Holidays on behalf of the recovery group, dubbed “Project United.” Teams can sign up online to help renovate homes on Dec. 8 or 9. More funding is anticipated from United Way next year to address Ballard and Carlisle counties.
Those interested can also volunteer or donate directly to the Mayfield Long Term Recovery Group through its website. Local groups will be assigned to renovation projects based on their specific skill sets, and traveling groups will receive assistance toward lodging and food.
Upon meeting its December goal, the recovery group plans to continue the work begun by Home for the Holidays initiative under the moniker of “A New Lease on Life” until the remaining displaced tornado survivors have been adequately accommodated.
“I think it validates the program itself that we have people and organizations here on a local level that, more than anyone, see that need,” Drane said. “They understand the need, and they understand why this program is important to the future of our community.”
